Millet-Filled Peppers with Sautéed Leeks and Orange Sauce

I originally created this dish for a friend who was in need of some extra energy and vitamins while revising for exams. There is no reason why the different components can’t be made separately to go with other dishes, but I’ve presented them together here because I thought they worked really well as a dinner composition.

 Serves 2

Orange Sauce:

1 tablespoon butter

1 small onion

2 table spoons flour (I used Doves Farm gluten free plain flour, but you can also use ordinary plain flour)

500 ml orange juice

500 ml vegetable stock

Filled peppers:

2 red peppers

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil

1 onion

1 clove garlic

a handful of millet seeds

1 medium carrot

water

pinch of salt

6 green beans

½ courgette

a handful of fresh coriander

a handful of spinach

5 cherry tomatoes

Sautéed Leeks:

½ leek

3 chestnut mushrooms

a handful of savoy cabbage

100 ml white wine

⅓ tin of haricot beans

1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs

To serve:

cheddar cheese

chopped fresh coriander

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Orange Sauce:

Finely chop the onion, and add to the melted butter. Sauté the onions until soft (about 5 minutes) and add flour. Stir well until all the flour is well mixed in with the onion. Add the orange juice and leave to boil for about 20 minutes or until reduced to half the original amount. Add the vegetable stock, and again boil for about 20 minutes until reduced to half the original amount. Stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the sides of the pan.

Filled peppers:

Slice the peppers in two, clean out seeds and stalks. Bring a pan of water to the boil, and add the peppers. Let them simmer for 20 minutes until soft.

Warm the oil in a pan, chop the onion and add to the pan. Chop the garlic and add to the onion. Leave to sauté until the onion is soft (about 5 minutes).

Add the millet seeds, a pinch of salt, and a little bit of water. Chop the carrot and add to the pan. The millet behaves in a similar way to risotto rice, so keep adding water and stir occasionally while the millet cooks, until it is soft. Chop the green beans and courgette, and add to the pan.

Add the chopped coriander, spinach and tomatoes a few minutes before serving.

Sautéed Leeks:

Finely chop the leek into think strips. Also chop the cabbage and mushrooms thinly. Add these to a pan. As they start getting warm, add the wine. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes until soft. Add the beans and herbs and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Serving tips:

Arrange the different components of the dish on a plate, and serve with grated cheese and chopped coriander.